A 55-year-old hunter, Yusuf Garba (also known as Gana), has been arrested by the Adamawa State Police Command for allegedly exhuming his stepfather’s grave and severing his head.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje, Garba admitted to the crime during interrogation.
Garba, who hails from Tappare Kona Uku in the Jada Local Government Area of the state, shared that the deceased’s son had requested the head for ritual purposes after his father’s death. He recounted that following his stepfather's death, the son had attempted to transport the corpse for burial in Jalingo, Taraba State, but was refused. One year later, the son returned, asking for the head for traditional practices.
Garba claimed that the son, whom he believed to be involved in witchcraft, threatened to harm him or his children if he refused to comply with his request.
Feeling compelled by these threats, Garba confessed to taking a hoe in the early hours of the morning, around 4:00 am, to the graveyard where he exhumed the body and severed the head. He then placed the head in a polythene bag and delivered it to the son.
Garba further explained that two weeks after the event, the deceased’s wife came to him with reports of disturbing dreams, allegedly due to the head being kept in their bedroom. In response, Garba said he performed a ritual to end the nightmares.
The police have launched a full investigation into the incident, and the Commissioner of Police, CP Morris Dankombo, has ordered the prosecution of the suspect.
